Volkswagen, Audi and Skoda ruled out of leading automotive award

The Volkswagen emissions scandal has taken a new turn, with one of Australia's leading motoring awards ruling all Volkswagen, Audi and Skoda produces out of contention.

The Australia's Best Cars program, arranged by the Australian Automobile Association and member groups such as the NRMA and RACV, has rubbed out Volkswagen Group vehicles and postponed its launch announcement.

Several Volkswagen, Skoda and Audi vehicles took part in testing for the awards in late September, but the AAA says "recent issues regarding emissions compliance" means that none of them are eligible for this year's trophies.

Michael Bradley, chief executive of the AAA, says "the program cannot accurately or fairly assess Volkswagen Group vehicles against each criterion and as a result, no Volkswagen, Audi or Skoda Vehicles are able to be considered in this year's program".

The AAA's decision affects all models built by the Volkswagen Group, including cars that are not directly linked to the emissions issue.

Volkswagen released a statement on Friday saying it is disappointed with the AAA's decision, and that "it does not accept all Volkswagen and ŠKODA vehicles should be excluded from the 2015 Australia's Best Cars program" as less than ten per cent of local models are affected by the issue.

Michael Bartsch, managing director of Volkswagen Group Australia, hit out at the decision.

"Applying a blanket suspension to all Volkswagen and ŠKODA vehicles is disappointing considering the emissions issue only relates to vehicles fitted with 1.6 or 2.0-litre EA189 diesel engines in Australia," he says.

Bartsch says the brand is working with government and industry agencies to address the issue, which will soon be rectified in customer cars.

"[Volkswagen] takes this issue extremely seriously and we are committed to supporting our customers, partners, and dealers throughout this process," he says.

"We are committed to restoring Volkswagen's reputation and the status it has achieved through the Australia's Best Cars awards."

Having prepared to announce the program's results in November, the AAA's team will recalculate its numbers-based awards criteria before announcing class winners in early 2016.

Its decision to cut Volkswagen Group contenders is a significant one as its brands performed well during the AAA's 2014 awards.

Volkswagen's Golf 90TSI won the association's "Small Cars under $35,000" class in last year, while Audi's A3 Sportback was crowned champion for "Small Cars over $35,000".

Skoda's Octavia 103TSI won the gong for "Medium Cars under $50,000", and the Volkswagen Touareg took a prize as the best all-wheel-drive SUV priced between $65,000 and $125,000.